Hallsands was once a charming seaside village that sat atop a cliff overlooking the English Channel. This peaceful South Devon settlement dates back to the 16th century, and many residents made their income from crab fishing.

It's not known whether any of the residents ever worried about Hallsands' precarious position as it grew along the clifftops. A sturdy sea wall kept it protected from the worst of the coast's storms, but it wasn't nature that began the decline of this once idyllic seaside village.

In the 1890s, a scheme was proposed by engineer Sir John Jackson to expand the naval dockyard in Keyham near Plymouth. Sand and gravel were needed for its construction, so it was decided that these would be taken from the beach at Hallsands. Unfortunately, this meant that 1,600 tons of material were being removed from the beach each day, soon catching the attention of worried villagers.

Not only was the level of the beach dropping rapidly, but fishermen whose income relied on bringing in supplies of crabs and fish were also concerned that the disturbance would destroy their industry. An inquiry was launched, and it was found that the dredging activity was unlikely to be a threat to the village. Paying off the fishers with compensation of £125 a year during the works settled the matter, or so they thought.

By 1900, the beach had dropped as much as 12ft, and then the storms began. In 1901, part of the sea wall was destroyed, and homes were damaged. The spring tides used to reach around 70 to 80ft away from village homes, now the sea inched closer and closer, with homes in the south end of the village seeing ominous cracks on their walls.

Some villagers fled the area, while others stayed put, reassured that the sea wall reconstructed in 1906 would protect them. However, on one scary night in 1917, the remaining 93 inhabitants faced a terrifying storm in which the waves breached the sea walls and tore the roofs off homes. Eyewitness accounts tell of residents clinging to walls and doors before seeing them helplessly washed away into the sea.

Miraculously, nobody died, but the village was in ruins. Residents frantically grabbed whatever belongings were left, realising that the next storm would destroy Hallsands. As predicted, the next night brought another storm, dragging most of the village into the sea. Most of the homes in the village were completely uninhabitable, but one home at the highest point of the village survived.

Villagers relocated to nearby settlements, fighting a long battle for compensation for their lost homes. However, 33-year-old Elizabeth Prettejohn, whose home had survived the storm, refused to budge. Despite her home being surrounded by ruins, she stayed in the village as its sole resident, with only her chickens for company, until her death in 1964.

Elizabeth often showed curious tourists around the remains of the village, and lived a peaceful life In 1960, British Pathé created a newsreel called Derelict Village showing Elizabeth, by then a sprightly 80-year-old, climbing through the ruins and tending to her chickens.

Nowadays, the remains of Hallsands can be spotted from the safety of a viewing platform along the coast. Some of the walls of the old homes and crumbled remains can be spotted below your feet. After Elizabeth died, her home was turned into a holiday cottage, so now visitors can enjoy the same peaceful existence that the last resident of Hallsands had.

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